- Joined
- Aug 6, 2008
- Messages
- 19 (0.00/day)
I'm about to order the acrylic to build a case from scratch. My goal was to have full ATX support and have the case be as small as possible so I can take it to the dorms next year. I also need it as quiet as possible so I'm trying to make the most efficient use of fans I can. I cut out the DVD drive as that would make the case much bigger and cause cable clutter and I never really use the thing. I'll use an eSATA connection if I really need it. Although, if I made the case just 1.63 inches taller I could put that drive right above the motherboard and hard drive, I'm not sure, what would you do?
Here is a picture I put together, everything is to scale so I have the dimensions (15.75*11.75*7.25) finalized. On the side where the motherboard mounts I'm gluing 10 clear cubes into place and drilling holes for the motherboard mount. It should help circulation if it's not resting against the panel as well. I have a fan (all are 120mm) on the bottom of the front panel giving my 4850 air and the PSU should exhaust that air. It's a Seasonic S12 so the fan is VERY slow, but I think it should get the job done. At the top of the case I have a fan behind the tower cpu heatsink exhausting that air and I might also put one on the front panel feeding it air, or just a vent, that's also another decision I have to make.
As for looks, I have one panel (the one you usually find windows on) will be red and transparent, the rest will all be black. The description for the black panels said they let light through but diffuse it so you can't see what's inside. On the front I'm carving a design out of the black and putting red LEDs behind it. It will be 6.75 wide and 240mm long to let in air to two fans. It will limit airflow a lot but I think this case will still have better cooling than most as it's so small and still has 3 120mm + the PSU 120mm.
So I really want to see if anyone here has experience with acrylic cases and can give me some advice. Or any suggestions on my design if I have issues that I haven't seen.
Here is a picture I put together, everything is to scale so I have the dimensions (15.75*11.75*7.25) finalized. On the side where the motherboard mounts I'm gluing 10 clear cubes into place and drilling holes for the motherboard mount. It should help circulation if it's not resting against the panel as well. I have a fan (all are 120mm) on the bottom of the front panel giving my 4850 air and the PSU should exhaust that air. It's a Seasonic S12 so the fan is VERY slow, but I think it should get the job done. At the top of the case I have a fan behind the tower cpu heatsink exhausting that air and I might also put one on the front panel feeding it air, or just a vent, that's also another decision I have to make.
As for looks, I have one panel (the one you usually find windows on) will be red and transparent, the rest will all be black. The description for the black panels said they let light through but diffuse it so you can't see what's inside. On the front I'm carving a design out of the black and putting red LEDs behind it. It will be 6.75 wide and 240mm long to let in air to two fans. It will limit airflow a lot but I think this case will still have better cooling than most as it's so small and still has 3 120mm + the PSU 120mm.
So I really want to see if anyone here has experience with acrylic cases and can give me some advice. Or any suggestions on my design if I have issues that I haven't seen.
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